The municipality used lasers to scan Centennial Field, marking its highs and lows and each of its divots and bumps to create an accurate representation of the work that needs to be done to level the playing surface so it's safe for next year's soccer season.
Next spring, municipal staff will fill the holes, level the bumps, lower protruding sprinkler heads and sprinkle grass seed in hopes that those quick fixes will carry Jasper's sports teams through until 2017 when the entire field is redeveloped.
The scan comes after the North Central Soccer Association wrote the municipality a letter in August, saying the field was unsafe for league play and, if left in its current state, wouldn't be used for games in 2016, forcing Jasper's soccer teams to travel for all of their games.
Bruce Thompson, director of operations for the municipality, said the goal is to get the field fit for the soccer season, so that doesn't have to happen.
“We've got to get it to a point where the regional soccer people will play on it. That's the priority,” he said.
The challenge is that Jasper only has one soccer pitch and it's used for far more than soccer games. It's used for football games, rugby games and for events, like last week's dark sky festival and September's folk festival.
“What we've found with the field is there's so many events on there that it's not getting time to rejuvenate; it's not getting an opportunity to grow and we're not getting an opportunity to fix it,” said Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation.
As well as heavy use, the issue is exacerbated by extreme weather, like heavy rainfalls or snowfalls.
“It's our only field to play on, so it doesn't get the opportunity to recoup after a hard rainfall or after a hard snowfall, so it's getting trashed,” she said, noting that most communities have at least two fields, so they're able to alternate.
“What they do for their policies and procedures is if it's raining really bad they'll allow field one to be in use for today and then field two to be in use tomorrow, so that they're always getting a chance to recoup.”
McNabb said once the exchange lands are redeveloped on Pyramid Lake Road that should provide Centennial Field with a bit of a reprieve, because some of the town's large events will be able to set up there instead.
The exchange lands—where the old high school used to be—will also be used as a temporary sports field while Centennial Field is redeveloped in 2017.
“Then in 2018 we'll have the exchange lands and Centennial Park—we'll have twice as many fields as we do now,” said Thompson.
Until recently, Centennial Field was slated for a complete overhaul in 2016, but that date got pushed back when the municipality received a $187,500 federal grant for the project. The funding is from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program and cannot be spent until 2017.
With the funds, the municipality plans to redesign, excavate and reconstruct the field to improve its irrigation and drainage, as well as make the surface safe for users.
To ensure the longevity of Centennial Field, once it's redeveloped, McNabb said the municipality will have to consider closing it following heavy rainfalls and snowfalls.
Those types of procedures will be included in a field use policy that's currently being developed and is scheduled to be presented to council this winter.
Nicole Veerman
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